Negative campaign was a minus

Before the mid-October mailing of Fry's now infamous "child molester" fliers, it would have been ridiculous to suggest that Wood would win with a higher percentage of the vote in Mishawaka than Pete Buttigieg, the "sure winner" Democratic nominee in South Bend, would amass there.

But that's what happened.

Buttigieg, the 29-year-old Democrat who was virtually mayor-elect since his impressive, decisive win in a highly contested Democratic primary in May, won with 74 percent.

Wood, new Republican mayor, only a little more than a year in office and untested running citywide in a Democratic-tending city that does however like Republican mayors, won with 76 percent.

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Both Buttigieg and Wood truly were landslide winners.

Buttigieg carried every one of the 91 precincts in which votes were cast in South Bend.

Every one, even in strongly Republican precincts in South Bend's 5th District.

Example: In one 5th District precinct, the district's re-elected Republican council member, Dave Varner, trounced his Democratic opponent 286 to 98. But Buttigieg carried that precinct 236 to 140 over Republican mayoral nominee Wayne Curry.

So, Buttigieg now will be the second youngest mayor in South Bend history. Schuyler Colfax became mayor at 28. That's not the Colfax who was vice president and for whom Colfax Avenue is named.

The young mayor was his son, Schuyler Colfax III, a Republican elected in 1898.

That Buttigieg pitched a shutout, winning every precinct everywhere, is very impressive, but not totally unexpected after the way he attracted so much support, including so many Republican cross-over votes, in the Democratic primary.

Unexpected, however, back when the Mishawaka race began, was the way Wood also pitched a shutout, winning all 45 precincts in which votes were cast in that city, even in heavily Democratic precincts.

Example: In one precinct in Mishawaka's 1st District, Democratic Council Member Dale "Woody" Emmons, who was re-elected, trounced his Republican opponent 174 to 67. But Wood carried that precinct 214 to 36 over Fry.

Why was Fry repudiated like that in a solidly Democratic precinct?

Fry, now in his 12th term as a state legislator, had burned bridges at times in past disputes and never was regarded as a front-runner in the race. But he also had fought battles for Mishawaka in the legislature, from school funding to Capital Avenue extension. The question was: If Wood could be forced into mistakes, would Fry have a chance?

Just before the mid- October "child molester" mailings that sealed his fate, Fry had done very well in the third Mishawaka mayoral debate. Also, he had offered positive proposals for education and economic development and had mailed out a dozen-page plan to move Mishawaka "from good to great."

All of that was obscured by his mid-October negative mail blitz, the talk of the town.

While negative fliers and 30-second TV ads can help to define an opponent in an unflattering way and diminish support for that opponent, attacks also can backfire.

That can happen if voters view the attacks as unfair or inaccurate or hitting too hard at a candidate who seems likeable and undeserving of eye-gouging.

All of those factors were in play in those fliers in which Fry claimed that Wood "hired a child molester" and "refused to immediately fire him."

The person cited actually had been hired for the city years before by former Mayor Jeff Rea. And Wood, when notified by police about the charges that the person engaged in sexual misconduct with two 15-year-old girls, immediately suspended the accused without pay and then fired him, after making sure of the proper dismissal procedures, just 11 days later.

The mailings clearly backfired. Outrage, obscuring all else in the campaign, engulfed Fry. Other Democratic candidates pulled away from him.

Former Democratic mayoral nominees supported Wood.

Fry, known for never backing down, should have done so on this.

Instead, he sent out another mailing defending the "child molester" fliers and closed the campaign with a radio script on the subject.

If you are trying to beat a train to a crossing, and it becomes clear that the result would be negative, it would be best to stop and change your route. Fry wouldn't. He was hit by a train.

Jack Colwell is a columnist for The Tribune. Write to him in care of The Tribune or by e-mail at jcolwell@comcast.net.